Safety device for wringers



' SAFETY DEVICE'F'OR WRINGERS Filed July 8, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR Edwin E. f r1, c/rsorz BY M E M O NEYS- Aug. 21, 1934. c so 1,970,957

SAFETY DEVICE FOR WRINGERS Filed July 8, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENT R Zdwn E f rb'clrson.

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Patented Aug. 21, 1934 'PATE OFFICE SAFETY DEVICE FOR WRINGERS Edwin E. Ericks Application July 8, 1

19 Claims.

The general object of the present invention being indicated by its title, it should be noted that the present invention relates particularly to electrically operated wringers,-the safety device red ferred to being designed to open the energizing circuit thereof.

Various devices having heretofore been proposed whereby the pivotal elevation of a roller (as may be occasioned either by the advance of an operatives hands toward the wringer rolls or by an extra thickness of goods) is effective to open a circuit, it is an object of the present invention to provide improved and more reliable safety means,-including not only dependent levers but also slidably movable transverse guard members and relying upon an inward drag rather than any upward pivotal movement, to open a switch; and, in preferred embodiments of the invention, an elevated rock shaft being provided with an arm 20 for depressing a circuit-opening button, assuming provision to be made for advancing the goods in either of two opposite directions, slightly different types of lever systems and of thrust-transmitting mechanism (each preferably movable by a roller upon a horizontal shaft) may be employed on opposite sides of the wringer and connected with the rock shaft in a novel manner hereinafter described.

Other objects of the present invention, preferred embodiments of which may include parallel elevated rock shafts manipulable by dependent and/or interconnecting arms (inward movement being ordinarily imparted to said arms from guard roller shafts, or the equivalent thereof, by means including links connected with the ends thereof and terminating either in cam faces or in pivotal connections) may be best appreciated from the following description of an illustrative embodiment of the invention taken in connection with the appended claims and the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is an end elevational view.

Fig. 2 is a corresponding top plan View, omitting some optional details and taken as indicated by the arrow 2 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view, taken as indicated by the arrow 3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a side elevational view, taken oppositely to Fig. 3 and as indicated by the arrow 4 of Fig. 1. I

Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view, taken as indicated by the line 55 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is an additional detail sectional view, taken as indicated by the line 6-6 of Fig. 3.

on, Detroit, Mich.

930, Serial No. 466,437

Fig. 7 is an enlarged detail view corresponding to a lower right hand portion of Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a sectional view, taken on line 88 of Fig. 7.

As to the more general features of the disclosed wringer, these may be of conventional type or such as are shown in my application Serial No. 324,827, filed Dec. 10, 1928. In the illustrated form, conventional side bars 10, 10 are shown as interconnected by an upper frame element 11 and as providing bearings for wringer rollers 12 and -13,-which may be assumed to be geared together in a usual manner, not shown.

Secured to the side bars 10, 10' are shown laterally extending plate-like supporting members 14, 14', upwardly terminating in narrow horizontal or inclined surfaces 15, 15. Extending between the plates 14, 14, on either side of the roller 13 and in slightly spaced relationship thereto, are shown rollers 16 and 1'7,--each of which may be provided with a gear 18, 18', meshing with a gear 19 secured to the shaft of the upper roller 12. Positioned adjacent the ends of the plates 14, 14 and extending between them are shown additional rollers 19 and 20; and endless belts 21 and 22 extend respectively over the rollers 16 and 19 and over the rollers 1'7 and 20. It will be apparent that the top surface of the belt shown in each case moves in the same direction as the line of contact between the two wringer rollers,so that, during a wringing operation, if a wet cloth is disposed upon, for example, the belt above roller 22 and the wringer is operated in the proper direction, the cloth will be carried between the rollers 12 and 13. The water will thus be squeezed out and the article will then be deposited upon the belt 2l,-which will carry it away from the rollers and drop it at the outer end of said belt.

The foregoing features being substantially such as are described in the mentioned pending application, the present invention should be understood to relate more particularly to automatic means for manipulating a switch, in the circuit of a motor whereby the mentioned moving parts may be normally driven in either direction. Secured in a suitable manner, as by a bracket 23 and screws 24, a switch box 25 may include two push buttons 26 and 27 the button 26 being\ touched to start the motor which drives the 105 wringer and the button 27 being'utilized to stop the motor. A pair of brackets 28, 28' are secured to the upper edges of the frame members 10, 10, on one side of the wringer, rotatablyto receive a. rock shaft 29,-an end of said shaft 110 being optionally provided with a bearing at 29' in the switch box 25. An arm 30 is shown as fixed or integral with the. shaft 29 and as extending downwardly therefrom adjacent the switch box; and the lower end of this arm is shown as provided with a laterally extending finger 31, having an enlarged end 31' adapted to overlie the button 3'7. The shaft 29 is shown as also provided with a pair of substantially parallel dependent arms 32, 32', terminating in proximity to the belt 22 and adapted to be either directly or indirectly moved inward to close the mentioned switch.

To impart inward movement to arms 32, 32',

novel thrust-transmitting means may be employed. For example, there may be secured to the side plates 14, 14 a pair of special brackets 33, 33 carrying pivotally connected arms 34, 34. Each of these is shown as provided with an apertured lug 35, 35 and with a slot 36, 36'; and the arms 34, 34' may be interconnected by means such as a tube 37. A roller 38 is shown as provided upon a shaft 39 functioning as a guard member slidably received in the slots 36, 36'; and said shaft is also provided with link members 40, 40', journalled on the shaft 39 and projecting through the apertures on the lugs 35, 35' in such manner as to be guided thereby during any inward sliding longitudinal movement,such as may be imparted thereto by the shaft 39 when the roller 38 is dragged forward by an operatives hand; and the links 40, 40 may inwardly terminate in cam" surfaces disposed in cooperating relationship with cam followers in the form of rounded ends provided, as at 41, 41' upon the arms 32, 32'. The joint between each arm 34, 34 and the corresponding brackets 33, 33' (or a stop 42, 42 provided upon each of said brackets) may be such as to prevent the arms 34, 34' from swinging downward far enough to permit the roller 38 to engage a belt 22, while nevertheless holding it in normally spaced relationship thereto; and means such as a plurality of dogs 43, shown as pivoted at 44 'to arms 34, 34' and as terminating in wedge tips 45, may be employed normally to obviate rise of the arms 32, 32 during the wringing of thick goods while nevertheless permitting the roller shaft 39 to slide inward in the slots 36, 36,thereby imparting corresponding movement to the links 40, 40' and to the cam followers 41, 41' and indirectly opening the circuit as described. The dogs may be lifted to allow thick goods to pass.

On the opposite side of the members 10, 10' from the rock shaft 29, a shaft 50, similar thereto, is shown as supported by brackets 51, 51', resembling the brackets 28, 28. Each end of the shaft 50 is shown as provided with a dependent arm 52, 52',

respect to the belt 21 that the roller 38 maintains in respect to the belt 22. A guard plate 57 is optionally extended over the upper surface of the roller 56 or used in replacement thereof, and the ends of said plate and/or the ends of the guard shaft 55 may be extended over the edge faces 15, 15' at the tops of the plates 14, 14 in such manner as to be guided thereby in a substantially rectilinear movement to impart movement to the links 54, 54',--these parts being so proportioned that a predetermined inward movement of the guard member opens theswitch, by reason of some operative connection between shafts 29 and 50.

To complete a lever mechanism including shafts 29 and 50, when both are used, the shaft 50 may have fixed thereto an arm 58, shown as extending upwardly and inwardly and as" provided with a slot 58'. Fixed to the shaft 29 there is shown a pair of spaced arms 59, which extend upward and inward oppositely to the arm 58,-a pin or pivot shaft 60 being employed, at the ends thereof, to complete a cam connection, of pin and slot type, between arms 58 and 59. This construction will be seen to be such that should an operative get a hand caught between the roller 56 and belt 21 an inward drag of said roller, imparting a sliding movement to the shaft 55 and a longitudinal movement to the links 54, 54', must rock the arm 57 in a clockwise direction, with reference to the showing in Fig. 1, and cause the arm 59 to be rocked in a counter clockwise direction and to so rotate the shaft 29 as to press the button 27 and break the motor circuit.

It will be seen that the arms 52, 52' resemble the arms 32, 32', responsive to movements of guard element 38, in that they normally occupy substantially vertical out-of-the-way positions near the corners of the frame elements 10, 10', and in that the described circuit-opening. effect involves a downward and inward movement of the lower ends thereof; and that the plate 5'7 may.

pressure is applied centrally of the roller 38.0r 56,.

or near one end thereof.

It will be seen that either the safety organization shown-at the right of Fig. 1 or that shown at the left of said figure might be independently used in connection with the rock shaft 29 and.

the arm 30, to depress the button 2'7; that the construction including the roller 56 is somewhatsimpler than that including the roller 38;- and that, so far as concerns the described features;

the switch-opening movements of the ends of the transverse guard members being substantially rectilinear, either of these organizations may per-- mit the guard roller thereof to rise, .to correspond with the extra thickness of heavy goods, without a resultant opening of the motor circuit,-

only an inward advance of the links 40, 40- or the links 54, 54 being effective to swing the-lower ends of the arms 32, 32' or 52, 52 inward for a circuit-opening effect; but the slightly more complicated organization shown at the left of Fig. 1 has the advantage of permitting the use of means such as the mentioned releasable dogs 43,-,.-normally preventing rise of links 40, 40' but movable to permit the roller 38. to rise in case the goods are too thick or become entangled.

It will be recognized that the use of two inter-' connected safetyorganizations is favorable not only to the passing .of the goods back andv forth through the wringer after succesive operations but also to an alternation of direction of rotation, to free the goods in case of entanglement. Gravity tends to hold all parts in their normal positions:-

and it is an obvious merit of the described construction that one or both of the novel safety organizations may be provided, at moderate cost, either as a part of the original equipment of a lid wringer or as articles of comm'erce,--to be inexpensively and easily applied to wringers not originally'equipped therewith. v Finally, although the foregoing description has included complete details of but one embodiment of the present invention, it should be understood not only that'various features thereof might be independently employed but also that numerous modifications, additional to any suggested herein,

might easily be devised by skilled workers, if in-' formed of the foregoing,all without involving the slightest departure from the scope of" the present invention, as the latter is indicated above and in the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a safety organization of the general character described: a switch; a transverse guard member disposed for substantially rectilinear movement; and means rendering a predetermined inward movement of said guard member effective to open said switch,said means including a thrust-transmitting mechanism and'a lever mechanism which are operatively interconnected and are respectively adapted to receive motion from said guard member and to impart motion to said switch.

2. In a safety organization of the general character described: a switch; a transverse guard member provided with means for guiding the ends thereof in substantially rectilinear movement; and means rendering an inward movement of said guard member effective to open said switch,said means including a pair of longitudinally slidable and transversely interconnected links in which said guard element is mounted.

3. In a safety organization of the general character describedf a switch; a transverse guard member; and means rendering an inward movement of said guard member effective to open said switch,said means including a pair of longitudinally. slidable links in which said guard element is mounted; and means for transmitting motion therefrom to said switch.

4. In means for transmitting motion between a slidable guard member for a machine of wringer type and a switch controlling the energization thereof, a lever mechanism including: a rock shaft; a switch-operating arm thereon; and a plurality of dependent arms rigidly connected with said shaft and downwardly terminating in cam followers positioned for response to movements of said guard element.

5. In means for transmitting motion between a guard member for a machine of wringer type and a switch controlling the energization thereof, a lever mechanism including: a shaft; a switch operable by rotation thereof; and a plurality of dependent arms connected with said shaft and inwardly movable by an inward movement of said guard member,said arms being provided with cam followers and said guard member being provided with thrust-transmitting means which terminate in cam faces for engagement with said followers.

6. In means for transmitting motion between a guard member fora machine of wringer type and a switch controlling the energization thereof, a lever mechanism including: a shaft; a switch operable thereby; and a plurality of dependent arms connected with said shaft and inwardly movable by an inward movement of said guard member,--said arms being connected with said guard member by means comprising 'longitudinally slidable links.

7. In a safety organization for a machine of wringer type: a guard member extending transversely upon each side thereof; fixed guides; a lever mechanism including a pair of substantially parallel rock shafts; a switch operable by rotation of one of said shafts; means operatively interconnecting said shafts; and means transmitting motion from said guard members to saidshafts respectively,

guides. r

8. In a circuit-controlling safety organization suitable for use upon a machine compr'sing rollers and energized by electrical means: arock shaft provided with means to open a switch in the circuit of said electrical means; a transverse guard member disposed opposite said rollers; and means transmitting switch-opening motion from said guard member, upon such inward movement thereof, to said rock shaft,-said motion-transmitting means including arms dependently connected with said rock shaft, links extending between ends of said guard member and ends of said arms, and means interconnecting said links.

9. In a circuit-controlling safety organization suitable for use upon a machine energized by electrical means: a rock shaft provided with means to open a switch in the circuit of said electrical means; a transverse guard member; and means transmitting switch-opening motion from said guard member, upon such inward movement thereof, to said rock shaft,-said motion-trans mitting means including arms dependently connected with said rock shaft, links extending between ends of said guard member and ends of said arms, and means interconnecting said links, one pair of said links being provided with means for preventing, at will, pivotal movement thereof.

10. In a circuit-controlling safety organization suitable for use upon a machine comprising rollers and energized by electrical means: a shaft provided with means to open a switch in the circuit of said electrical means; a transverse guard member disposed for inward and upward movements relatively to said. rollers; and means transmitting switch-opening motion from said guard member to said shaft upon such inward movement thereof, said guard member being provided with means rendering a pivotal elevation thereof ineffective to operate said switch.

11. In a circuit-controlling safety organization suitable for use upon a machine comprising rollers and energized by electrical means: a shaft provided with means to open a switch in the circuit of said electrical means; a transverse guard member disposed for inward and upward movements relatively to said roller; and means transmitting switch-opening motion from said guard member to said shaft only upon such inward movement of said guard member.

12. In a circuit-controlling safety organization suitable for use upon a machine comprising rollers and energized by electrical means: a shaft provided with means to open a switch in the circuit of said electrical means; a transverse guard member disposed for inward movement relatively to said rollers; and means transmitting switchduring advance on said opening motion from said guard member to said shaft upon such inward movement thereof,- said means including links rendering only an inward drag of said guard member effective to open said switch and pivotally movable means provided with means to open a switch in the circuit of said electrical means; a transverse guard member disposed for inward movement relatively to said rollers; means transmitting switch-opening motion from said guard member to said rock shaft upon such inward movement thereof; an additional rock shaft disposed substantially parallel with the mentioned rock shaft; an additional guard member operatively connected with said additional rock shaft; and means operatively connecting said rock shafts.

14. In a circuit-controlling safety organization suitable for use upon a machine comprising rollers and energized by electrical means: a rock shaft provided with means to open a switch in the circuit of said electrical means; a transverse guard member disposed for inward movement relatively to said rollers; means transmitting switch-opening motion from said guard member to said rock shaft upon such inward movement thereof; an additional rock shaft disposed substantially parallel with the mentioned rock shaft; and an additional guard member operatively connected with said additional rock shaft,-said rock shafts being operatively interconnected by cam means.

, 15. In combination, means providing a work carrying surface, means for imparting movement to the surface, a guard member disposed adjacent to the surface, the guard being movable in either of two directions substantially at right angles with respect to each other and means interconnecting the guard and the means for actuating the work carrying surface whereby movement of the guard in one direction is effective to render the actuating means inoperative, the interconnecting means being unaffected by movement of the guard in the other direction.

16. In combination, a carrier for materials comprising a conveyor belt, a guard disposed transversely of the belt, said guard being disposed for movement longitudinally of the belt and further being so connected that it may bemoved from the belt, means for driving the belt and means interconnecting the driving means and the guard whereby movement of the guard longitudinally of the belt is effective to render the actuating means inoperative while movement.

of the guard away from the belt may be had without effecting the actuating means.

1'7. In combination, a pair of cooperating rolls, means for rotating said rolls to feed material therebetween, feeding means including movable surfaces disposed on opposite sides of said rolls for carrying material to and from said rolls in the same direction and at substantially the same speed that the material is fed between the rolls, means for-controlling the operation of said first named means, guard members disposed above each of said movable surfaces and on opposite sides of said rolls, each of said guard members being adapted for movement parallel to that of the adjacent movable surface of the feeding means, and means connecting said guard members to said control means whereby said guard members, upon movement parallel to that of the adjacent movable surface of the feeding means, will actuate said controlling means.

18. In combination, a wringer including rolls, means for driving said rolls to feed material between the rolls in either of two opposite directions, a circuit for controlling the operation of said driving means, a switch in said circuit, endless belt means disposed on opposite sides of said rolls, means connected to said first-named driving mean for driving said belt means, means to feed material to and from said rolls in the same direction that the material is fed between the rolls, guard members disposed on opposite sides of said rolls and movable toward said rolls, and means connecting said guard members to said switch whereby movement of either guard member toward said rolls actuates said switch to open the circuit for controlling the operation of said first named driving means.

19. In combination, a wringer including a pair of cooperating rolls, means for driving said rolls to feed material therebetween in either of two opposite directions, means tor controlling the operation of said driving means, feeding means including a movable surface disposed on each side of said cooperating rolls and driven thereby for carrying material to and from said rolls in the same direction that the material is fed between the rolls, a guard member disposed on each side of and movable relative to said cooperating rolls with one guard member arranged adjacent each movable surface, and means co-operating with said guard members and the means for controlling the operation of the driving means for the rolls whereby movement of either guard member relative to said rolls controls the operation of the driving means for the rolls.

- I EDWIN E. ERICKSON. 

